Apparatus foe mafufaoturim flour



(No Model.) 2 Sheet-.s sheet 2.`

JIM.' CASE.l

APPARATUS POR MANUFACTURING PLOUR. No. 297,757. Pateinted Apr. 29, 1884.`

s UNITED STATES PATENT OrrIcg,`

JOI-IN M. OASE, OF

cOLUMBUs, OHIO, AssIcNOHfrO THE casu MANUFAO- TUBING COMPANY, or SAME PLACE;

, APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING FLOUR.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 297,757, dated April 29, 1884-.

Application filed May 31, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern.:

Beit known that I, JOHN M. CASE, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machinery and Apparatus for the Manufacture of Flour, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new machinery and apparatus for elevating, purifying, and handling stock in the manufacture of Hour. the system now in use elevations are made by mechanical means, such as belts, cups, gearing, and shafting. My improved' apparatus will entirely do away with this system of mechanical elevating and the machinery and eX- pense connected therewith, while it has many other advantages, hereinafter more fully eX- plained.

My invention consists in one or more fans having sufficient capacity to supply the necessary air-currents for the elevation of all the material in the` mill, said fan or fans being connected with suitable air-conduits, and communicate with suitable dust-catchers for the purpose of arresting any material which may be elevated beyond the settling-chambers, all

as hereinafter described and claimed. By this arrangement of the exhaust-pipes and dustcatchers I remove a very large proportion of the ne liber and impure material which become incorporated with the chop in the pro-- cess of reduction and grinding. This material from the dust-catchers is sent to separate bolts and ytreated separately and manufactured'into a lower grade of flour. I also cause the aircurrents for elevating to be drawn through the rolls or reduction-machines in such a manner as to keep them perfectly cool. This improved means of elevating has other important advantages, among which may be mentioned the fact that'it is entirely dustless. It is also free from the special liability to fire incident to the use of mechanical elevators.

It is found in the operation of mills that fires.

are very Often produced by the elevators stopping while the pulley continuesv to revolve, creating a degree of friction sufficient to cause ignition or combustion;A My means of elevat- 2 is a vertical section of the same` ing, for this reason,'wil1 very materially reduce the liability to fire.

In carrying out my invention I construct a V regulate the strength of current to the air-con.

duits, the suction being produced by fans, as heretofore explained.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a vertical section on the line x, Fig. 2, of al mill embodying my improved system. Fig. on the line y, Fig. l. y

In these views I have not shown the full number of bolts ordinarily used, nor the purifiersor Othermachineryl in the mill, but have only shown a sufficient amount of bolts and other machinery to fully represent my improved means -of elevating aud arresting the dust. n

By reference to the drawings it will be seen that I provide a large fan, 1, which in this'instance is located at the top of the mill; but it may be located at any point or position desired. Suitable air-conduits, 2, connect from the fan to the air-chamber 3. To this airchamber are connected by passages 4 dustcatchers 5. (Shown in section in Fig. 2.) These dust-catchers communicate by ducts 7 and main conduit 8 with practically air-tight settling-chambers 6 over the bolts 9. The chamber 6 is provided with a suitable claclz-valve, 10, which valve is so arranged thatby the accumulation of stock the material is permitted to fall into the bolt by raising the valve tem plied to the settling-chamber is compelled to pass through this elevating-pipe, and in its rapid transit up said pipe or pipes the material delivered from the rolls is elevited. The

ert and without strong currents.

air-chamber (i is made sufficiently large to allow of the settling of the material within this Chamber,while but a small portion is drawn out by the air-currents, the reason being that the area of the air-pipe 11, connecting with the rolls or other part of the mill whence material is to be elevated, is very small compared with that of the chamber; hence a small volume of air is forced through the pipe 11 with a strong current, which small volume of air becomes distributed over the settling-chamber, leaving the air within the chamber comparatively in- The air passes out through the elevating-pipe communicating with the dust collectors, through which it passes ofi' very slowly, owing to its being again distributed over a large area. It will readily be seen that in this system of elevating the fine iibrous impure matter, which is so difficult to separate when it is once permitted to pass into the bolt with the good stock, will be elevated and caught by the dustcatchers 5. I have shown in Fig. 2 one of the dust-catchers of the form preferred; but they may be of any suitable construction. 'lhc form of dust-catcher here shown is described and claimed by mein a contemporaneous application. It consists of a spider or frame having stretchers or rungs 13, over and around which is stretched a continuous band of cloth, 14. Ihe bearing of the spider is made hollow', as shown at 15, and is put into communication with the passage 4, leading to the airchamber 3. The air being drawn through this dust-catcher, it passes out through the i'an entirely free from any valuable material. The dust-catcher is caused to revolve, and is provided with a suitable jarring apparatus acting in such a manner that the stock which accumulates upon the cloth of the dust-catcher is jarred off and passes out through the dead-air chamber 16, Fig. 2, thence discharging to the reels or to the place for which it may be found best suited.

In my improved system of elevating and purifying stock, I use a sufficient number of dust-catchers to correspond with the diierent qualities of stock to be operated upon, so that in the rebolting of this material caught by the dust-catchers it may be handled with the very best advantage. I place one dustcatcher in the elevator of the stock from the break-machines, as shown at 5 in Fig. 1. Another dust-catcher may be used in the elevator of the material from the bran-rolls 12, another, as shown at 5, in the elevator of the material from the germ-rolls 12.

In the elevat-ion of material which is uniformly alike and of the same relative value, I connect the pipes together, as shown at 11, Fig. 1, in which ease one elevating-pipe may answer for elevating the product from two or more pairs of rolls.

In the drawings I have shown with a series of break-machines a series of settling-chambers, 6, located immediately above the scalpingreels 1S. This material being of uniform nature, I connect with these several settling-chambers one common suction-pipe, 8, and in each one of these settling-chambers there is inserted a suitable suction-pipe, 11, for elevating material thereto from the rolls. The material passes up from thcirst break, 12, through one of the pipes 11 by the suction of air, and is discharged into the iirst settling-chamber 6, 7

and from thence passes through the reel,where a sepa-ration of the middlings which may have been made in this break occurs. rlhe tailings of the first reel are spouted by a suitable pipe to the second set of rolls, 12, (herein represented as located in the same frame, 22, as that ofthe iirst break,) and into this second set of rolls is connected the second ol' the elevating-pipes 11, communicating with the second of the settlingchambers G over the second scalping-reel 18. This process is continued untilv any number of breaks are made, which may be optional with the miller. Falling from the last reel, the tailings pass onto the bran-roll l2, and from this roll the product is elevated to a special settling-chamber, (represented at 6",) which settling-chamber connects by suction-pipe 8 with another dust catcher, the bran passing olf through suitable reels to be finished. The middlings which are made in the several reductions are fed by the individual conveyer 251L and common conveyer 25 to the elevatingpipe 11C, by means of which they are drawn up and discharged into the settling-chamber G, thence passing to suitable bolts, 28, as shown, where they are treated in the usual manner. Puriiied middlings from the purifying-machine (not shown in this drawing) may be spouted to the rolls 12, and, after being crushed, elevated to the second series of wheels, rst passing through the settling-chamber 6, as represented. In all the settlingchambers I employ valves, as at 10 10, for the purpose of preventing any air being drawn up through the discharge-openin gs. The object of these valves is to arrest the current of air, and they are so arranged that they will open by the weight of the accumulating material, permit it to discharge, and then quickly return to place.

In the drawings some of the discharge-pipes and elevating-pipes are shown broken off, indicating that they may be connected to any desirable machine or stock discharged at any point desired in the mill.

It is obvious that the suction-pipes may be led to the rolls from either side or end. In one of the drawings they are shown as leading into the side of the machilncs, in the other as entering the ends.

Some details of this machinery and apparatus I have described and claimed in my application No. 96,703, of even date herewith.

Having thus described myinvention, the following is what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. The combination of a series of rolls or breaking-machines, a series of pneumatic ele- IOO IIO

Vating-pipes of small area, a series of settlngtube of Small area, a second settling-chamber 10 chambers, an exhaust-pipe of larger area, a and a second exhaust-pipe of larger area, and dust-catcher, and a fan, all arranged snlostan-v an air-trunk and fan common to all7 arranged tially in the manner and for the purposes set substantially in the manner and for the pur- 5 forth. l Y n pose set forth.

2. The combination, With a series of pneumatic elevating-tubes of small area, a series Witnesses: of settling-chambers, and an exhaust-pipe of OcTAVIUs KNIGHT, larger area, of a second pneumatic elevating-V HARRY E. KNIGHT.

JOHN M. oAsE. 

